A Challenging Kind Of Love
by kate10011
Summary: He survived the war, but he didn't come home intact. Now it might cost him his marriage and his family. But that's the price of war, right?


**A Challenging Kind Of Love**

He's been home three months when she kicks him out. In those long months he seems spacey and withdrawn, like he'd rather be anywhere but with her and their daughter. When he first got back and she noticed the changes in him, she talked to a Major's wife who suggested that he was simply having some trouble defining where he fit into the family unit and the routine that she and Beth had created. She'd tried everything she could think of to get him to engage with them, but all that had achieved was to have her reach the conclusion that he was no longer in love with her. He didn't even protest, or speak for that matter, when she asked him to go.

Beth has daycare three days a week, although Quinn is doing her classes by distance so they can stay in one place, it's best that they both have an established routine and Quinn has time to study. She continues to send Beth even though its semester break so as not to throw the little girl out of her routine too much. It also gives her the opportunity to grieve for her marriage, he may not be in love with her anymore, but she is still very much in love with him, and she refuses to cry went Beth is around, she needs to be strong for her baby.

She's in the middle of her tripe chocolate ice-cream and Nicholas Sparks movie marathon when her phone rings.

"Hey Rach" She said, trying to stem the tears that have been flowing for hours.

"Hey, I need to tell you something, about Noah" Rachel says, getting straight to the point.

"What is it? Is he hurt?" She questions, her heart beating out of her chest.

"Quinn, I'm at the pychologist's office, we think he has PTSD" Her best friend tells her.

"Post Traumatic Stress?" Quinn asks.

"Yeah, I know you two aren't on good terms right now, but I thought you should know, he really does love you and Beth" Rachel said.

"I have to go Rach" Quinn says, hanging up the phone before her friend can reply.

* * *

She gets in the car and drives straight to the base hospital where Puck and Rachel are, not caring that she probably looks like hell. She parks a few spaces away from Rachel's car and jogs all the way to the office, only stopping once she sees Rachel.

"Quinn" Rachel says, standing up quickly and hugging her friend.

"I have to see him" Quinn says breathlessly. "I need to talk to him"

"The session will be over in a few minutes" Rachel says, guiding Quinn to sit down, "You've been crying all morning haven't you?"

"My marriage is collapsing" Quinn said blankly, "You'd cry as well"

"I didn't mean anything by it Quinn, it was just an observation" Rachel says kindly, "Finn and I are worried about you"

"I'm surviving" Quinn replied, looking in the opposite direction.

They stayed silent until the doors of the office opened and a haggard looking Noah Puckerman emerged, looking even more exhausted and run down than the last time Quinn saw him. She sprang out of her seat and bowled towards him, stopping short of pulling him into her arms, knowing there were obviously boundaries now that had never existed before. Instead she reached forward slowly and cupped his face, bringing his head around so they were staring into each other's eyes.

"Is it true?" She asks him, holding her arms still when he tries to break eye contact.

"I have PTSD" He muttered pulling away from her and heading towards the door.

"Noah" she calls, thankful that he turns around, "Come home"

"Quinn" He says softly, "You don't want me there"

"Yes I do" She insists, closing the physical space between them again, "So come home, and let me help you"

* * *

They tiptoe around each other for the first two weeks of him being back home, he has his routine and she has hers, unfortunately both involve long awkward silences and missed opportunities for critical conversations.

Beth is at daycare and so it's just the two of them at home, even though they both feel pretty lonely.

"What are you doing?" Puck asks, entering the lounge room and seeing her enthralled by her laptop, she hesitates and blushes, "Your researching PTSD aren't you? Want to know how much of a freak show I am now?"

"Your not a freak show, and yes I am, I want to know what's happening to my husband, it's not a crime" She quips.

"Find anything good?" He asks casually, as though there not discussing a critical problem to his mental health.

"Not really, apparently every case is different and all symptoms vary" She tells him.

"Is that your way of asking for mine?" He asks.

"Only if you want to tell me" She says, even though she just wants to demand the truth and be done with it.

"I don't" He says, walking out of the room and leaving her alone again.

* * *

The next day Quinn is asked to come to his psychologist appointment for the first time, apparently overcoming his PTSD will also involve some sort of couple's exercise. She's nervous when they sit in the waiting room, like when you have a huge test and you haven't studied for it at all kind of nervous.

The doctor, Miranda, is a woman in her forties in a military uniform that tells Quinn she is still on active duty. She invites them to sit, saying nothing about the distance between the couple on the couch.

"So, Noah has expressed concern to me over discussing his symptoms with you" Miranda tells Quinn, "Today all I'm here to do is facilitate the conversation and help if needed."

"Okay" Quinn says quietly, wondering how this conversation will work.

"So Noah and I have managed to narrow down the cause of his PTSD to a specific incident about seven months ago" Miranda says, "In his own time, I want Noah to recount that incident to you."

"Okay" Quinn repeats, turning to her husband, "Whenever your ready baby"

"Um" He hesitates, Quinn notes the fact that although she has turned to face him, he is still facing the therapist, "We were in a rural village, about five hours away from anything mayor, we'd been there about a week doing surveillance when we got the order to move in…."

He pauses to compose himself while Quinn reaches out and grabs his hand, intertwining their fingers as Miranda writes a few notes. "But we didn't know how well guarded the place was, by the whole village. A firefight broke out and we all scrambled for whatever cover we could get. It went on for hours and we were slowly moving into better positions, but Finn got made. The kid was only ten years old, but he was aiming at Finn, about to pull the trigger, I was the only one with a clear shot, and the order came through"

He stops then and places his head in his hands, breathing heavily. Miranda gives Quinn a sympathetic smile as Quinn tries to process what Puck has just told her. "Why don't we move onto what you thought about it before you got home" Miranda says.

"I didn't think about it too much, after a couple of days it was just one of those things that happened. I rationalized it to myself, the little bastard was going to kill my best friend, he was the enemy, I followed orders, he got what was coming to him" He says as Quinn shifts closer to him, "But when I got home…. I saw Beth and….."

"Beth?" Quinn asks, not understanding how their daughter links to him and a 10 year old terrorist.

"I started to replay that day in my head, but every time I saw it, it was Beth, standing there, and I still pulled the trigger" He says as silent tears roll down both their cheeks, "Every time I see her that day replays in my head, and if I touch her it gets worse, and when I see you it just reminds me of her"

"You did really well Noah" Miranda assures him, before turning her attention to Quinn, "Noah is suffering from flashbacks, that feature Beth instead of the young boy, as well as severe anxiety and insomnia. We've prescribed medication for the anxiety and the insomnia but the flashbacks have to go away on their own, in their own time. Now isolating Noah from Beth won't actually solve the problem, and somehow he has to form a bond with his daughter, but nothing from here on in will be easy, it will be a long and painful road to recovery."

"What can I do?" Quinn asks, "To help? I want to help him"

"The best thing you can do for Noah right now is to be there, be present when he's anxious or can't sleep or that day is replaying through his mind" Miranda explains, "With time you'll find the best ways to help him, and at some point it will get easier."

That's when Quinn turns her attention back to her husband, he's pulled himself back together at this stage and is blankly staring at the wall, spaced out. She moves off the couch and drops to her knees in front of him, cupping his face to bring his eyes to meet hers, "I love you, we'll get through this" she whispers to him, praying that this time he'll return the sentiment.

When he pauses Miranda steps in, "Noah I know there's a lot of things running through your head right now, but one of the things we've talked about is the state of your marriage. As much as Quinn is trying to reassure you and comfort you right now, she is looking for the same things from you, can you try to return that sentiment to her, provide that comfort and reassurance that she is looking for."

Puck looks at his wife, watching her tears run down her cheeks for a few seconds but the words catch in his throat and they all sense that it's not going to happen right now.

"Quinn, what do you want out of these sessions?" Miranda asks as Quinn sits back on the couch, "What are you hoping they will accomplish?"

"I want Noah back, I want the man I married" Quinn says quietly, "I want him to be part of our lives again"

"You've talked about the emotional side of your relationship the distance you both feel from each other" Miranda says, "What about the physical side?"

"It's pretty non-existent right now" Quinn admits, blushing a little, "We haven't…. not since before he left"

"You live together again, are you sharing a bed?" Miranda asked, "Even just to sleep in?"

"No" Puck said, "Not right now"

"Do you want to Noah?" Miranda asked.

"Course I do" He said bluntly, "She's my wife"

"So your still attracted to her?" Miranda clarifies.

"Course" He repeats.

"What about you Quinn?" Miranda asks, "Do you miss the physical side of your marriage?"

"Absolutely" Quinn said.

"What specifically do you miss?" Miranda asked, Quinn blushed straight away.

"It's not just the sex, although obviously I miss that too, it's the little things like kissing, and holding hands and cuddling on the couch after Beth goes to bed" Quinn said, "I miss that feeling of being so close I can feel his heartbeat."

"So we're missing the physical and the emotional side of this relationship?" Miranda says, "At least that gives us something to work on, I'm not going to prescribe mandatory communication times or sex, although many of my male patients would love me for that, but I think that now you can identify what is missing from your marriage, both of you need to work on fixing it."

* * *

Overall, Quinn figures that their first session went pretty well, Puck even lets her hold his hand when they walk towards the car. There about halfway home when Quinn checks the time on her phone.

"Shit, its time to go and get Beth already" She says, but then notices the worry on her husband's face, "It's okay, I can go and get her by myself."

"I have to face her sometime Quinn" He tells her, turning the car around to head towards the daycare center.

They don't talk until they until they reach the center and Quinn guides Puck to the parent waiting area outside Beth's classroom. She looks around at the other mothers for a minute before swearing to herself.

"I knew I shouldn't have brought you here" She mutters, to herself more than to Puck.

"Why?" He asks, looking worried.

"Because now every woman here is checking out my husband" She whispers, "And we both know your past with cougars."

"Please" He snorts, "That was before you gave me a proper chance"

"Well then lets go somewhere where every guy in the room will check me out and see how you feel." She rebuts, crossing her arms and straightening her back.

"Q" He whispers, "Come here" he pulls her closer to him, wrapping his arm around her shoulder "What's worrying you?"

"You mean apart from my husband being sick, women perving on said husband and our marriage falling apart" She says bitterly, "I'm fine"

"Quinn" He whispers, "It'll work out"

She doesn't get a chance to answer because Beth comes barreling towards them at a hundred miles an hour and collides with their legs. "Slow down baby girl" Quinn laughs at her daughter, "What are you in such a rush for?"

"I wanna ice-cream" Beth tells her parents. Quinn takes a second to look at Puck who has a pained expression on his face, she turns away from her daughter for a second.

"Noah look at me" She whispers, "Look right at me, Beth is fine, you didn't hurt her, you won't hurt her, everything is okay"

"Mumma" Beth screams, interrupting her parents, "ICE-CREAM!"

"After dinner" Quinn says, "If you're a good girl for the rest of the night."

* * *

"She's out like a light" Quinn tells Puck, returning to the living room the night after their second weekly appointment with Puck's psychologist.

"What took so long?" He asks, wondering how putting their daughter to bed took two hours.

"We talked" Quinn said vaguely.

"Let me guess, she's cracked onto the fact that her dad is screwed up?" He asks.

"She just doesn't understand something's about what is going on right now" Quinn says, "And Miranda said that your making good progress so don't get so down on yourself."

"Yeah whatever" He says dismissively.

"I was thinking of going to bed" Quinn said hesitantly.

"I might go soon as well" He replies, they're still sleeping in separate beds.

"Actually, I was hoping that…." She stumbles, "That you might join me"

"Quinn" He sighs, "I sleep for two hours at a time, half the time I wake up in a cold sweat and I move around something shocking, you need a good nights sleep, you won't get that if I'm with you"

"I won't get it without you either" She tells him, "Let me help you with this"

She holds out her hand to him, breathing a huge sigh of relief when he takes it. Without speaking she leads him to the master bedroom and closes the door behind them. Slowly they both undress themselves and get under the covers, Quinn snuggling into Puck's side, glad that he hesitantly wraps an arm around her. It feels almost normal to be sleeping in the same bed again, yet its completely foreign at the same time.

An hour later Quinn is woken by Puck's erratic movements, and she knows instantly that he's having a nightmare. Instinctively she holds him closer and whispers soothingly into his ear as he breaks into a cold sweat. He's shaking by the time he wakes up and she holds him closer to her, still whispering calming words of love and adoration in his ear, retelling their best memories of Beth, and reminding him that he never has and never will hurt their baby girl.

As soon as his heart beat goes back to normal he falls back into a deep sleep and Quinn relaxes her hold on him and does the same. They wake another four times during the night, every time Quinn holds him tight and whispers the same reassurances to him until he calms down. By the time that morning comes neither are feeling particularly well rested, but both are glad that they made it through the first night together.

Although the first night was hellish, over the next two weeks, every night gets a little better, Puck is able to calm down as soon as he wakes up instead of staying in a state of panic, and his nightmares become fewer until they finally get an uninterrupted night's sleep after three weeks of being back in bed with his wife.

"Noah" Quinn whispers shaking her husband.

"What?" He moans, "It's a good dream"

"Noah, it's morning" Quinn whispers, "It's time to get up"

"What?" He asks, opening his eyes, then closing them because of the light flooding through their curtains, which are decorative rather than functional.

"Baby, you slept through the night" She whispers, ecstatically.

"Let me sleep more then" He says, rolling away from her. It seems like a rude thing to do, but it brings the biggest smile to Quinn's face because it's such a Noah thing to do.

* * *

"That's great news" Miranda says when Quinn informs her that Noah slept through the night as soon as she sits down.

"Now I can't get him to stop sleeping" Quinn jokes, Puck rolls his eyes at her.

"So your getting your husband back?" Miranda asked, "This is what we wanted." Quinn bites her lip nervously, "Except there's something bothering you"

"It seems silly" Quinn says, "Bigger fish to fry"

"All the small things add up Quinn" Miranda says, "What's going through your head?"

"It's just that we're back to the physical stuff, the kissing, the hand holding, the cuddling, not the sex yet but I get that it will take a bit more time" She says, feeling Puck tense nervously, "It's just that I'm always the one that instigates all those things, and we used to be equally as enthusiastic, now I kinda feel like he's just humoring me."

"Noah?" Miranda asks, "Are you just humoring her?"

"Fuck no" He replies, "I guess I just have to pay a little more attention to that stuff."

"I'm going to be blunt with you two" Miranda announces, "Your making great progress, as far as I can tell your marriage is back on track in terms of the emotional connections, you understand what the other is going through and your supporting each other, which is fantastic. But we talked about missing that physical side and from what your telling me it's still missing. So my advice would be find someone willing to take Beth for the weekend and just do something together without any interruptions from anyone. Rent a remote cabin out of town somewhere or lock the front door and disconnect the phone. Spend just a few days, completely alone, no technology at all and just be married, forget your problems and your responsibilities and just be yourselves and do whatever it is that young, gorgeous married couples do when they are alone together."

"Sounds good" Puck ventures.

* * *

Finn and Rachel are more than happy to take Beth for a few days when Quinn mentions that they need some alone time together and have planned a romantic weekend away. When they drop Beth off, Puck slings his arm around Quinn's shoulder as they walk to the truck, and instead of opening the door for her, he gently pushes her against the car, kissing her deeply until she moans involuntarily, he pulls away grinning like a Cheshire cat. The whole way to the cabin, a three hour trip, Quinn is acting like a giddy schoolgirl with her first crush on a boy, all because her husband kissed her.

When they get there Puck leads Quinn inside, locking the deadbolt on the front door as he drops the small suitcase they brought. Looking around the place doesn't even have a TV, they've agreed to keep their phones on but only answer if the Hudson's call them, because their still parents at the end of the day.

That night they find themselves cuddling on the couch in front of a raging fire (it is the middle of winter after all) with the remains of their dinner, which they cooked together, strewn around them. They've fallen into a comfortable silence until Puck decides to speak.

"I love you Quinn" he whispers, shocked when he sees her tearing up, "What?" he asks as he begins to worry.

"You haven't said that to me since you got home" She whispers back as a few tears roll down her cheeks, "I must have told you a million times but you've never said it back to me"

"I love you Quinn" He repeats, "I'm in love with you"

"I love you too Noah" She sobs, "So much"

He leans down and kisses her gently, lowering her onto the couch and kissing his way down her neck and down to the top of her shirt, slowly he removes the shirt, sucking lightly on her collarbone, leaving a mark. He removes her bra in a quick, practiced move and lavishes her breasts with his mouth as she moans loudly. She feels like her body on is fire and her panties are already soaked through. Her hands move down his back to the hem of his shirt, which she tugs upwards, making him move off her for a second to remove it completely. A moan of appreciation sounds through the room as she gets a good look as his naked chest.

Before he can respond, she flips them, harnessing strength she didn't know she had, before kissing him deeply again. She moves down his neck slowly, leaving a lovebite of her own on the base of his neck before moving down his chest and tracing the cut lines of his abdominals with her tongue. He swears as she grabs his belt, undoing it and his pants with one hand as she uses the other push herself back up his body to connect their lips again.

"You okay?" She asks, worried that she may be pushing him too far too fast. He doesn't reply except to flip them again so that he's on top and remove her pants as he kicks off his own. He's not sure if she's trying to tease him or remind him exactly what she's capable of when she removes his boxers with her feet.

"We're teasing now are we crazy girl?" He jokes, burying his face in her neck as one hand glides slowly down her body, "Two can play at that game."

He sets an agonizingly slow pace as he moves his hand down her body, slipping one finger into the waistband of her panties and tugging them down slowly, his fingers move back up between her legs until he reaches her soaking core, once finger gently teasing her folds, causing her to moan loudly in his ear.

"Fuck Noah, I need you" She moans, "I'm about to explode and you better be inside me when I do it"

He enters her slowly, giving her a minute to adjust to the fullness she has missed you much. His body moves slowly, setting a steady pace as their heated moans fill the room. Without much effort, both reach their climax quickly, as his grunts and her screams get louder.

An hour later he's wearing only his boxers when she returns to the room with a bottle of water and her iPod, wearing only his t-shirt, which his more like a dress on her. She sits the iPod in the stereo dock, allowing the quiet notes of the song fill the room before she turns to him.

"Will you do something dorky with me?" She asks, he nods immediately, "Dance with me?"

He stands up, approaching her and wrapping in his arms around her waist as she throws hers around his neck, they waltz slowly around the small room, staring into each other's eyes as the song plays, their wedding song. They kiss quickly as last notes of _One and Only _ring out through the room, it's the perfect song to describe them, the way in which they were terrified of falling in love at first, but how it was all more than worth it in the end.

* * *

They are not perfect, they are far from it, but everything seems to be a thousand times better than before when they are packing to head back to Lima for the holidays. Even though he is still unable to hold Beth, although he can comfortably look at her and be in the same room now, they seem like a family again.

Quinn's happier than he's seen her in a long time when they pack the car, setting up the DVD system for Beth and making sure to have enough snacks for the 9 hour drive back. It's decided that Rachel and Finn's daughter Alyssa will travel with them as well, since Rachel and Finn will have enough of a headache with their 14 month old son Nathaniel.

On their first night back in Lima, Quinn's mother joins them with Puck's mother and sister at the Puckerman residence for dinner. When Beth has gone to bed, they decide it's a good time to sit their family down for a long overdue chat. Quinn quietly ushers the other women to still down before taking her place at his side.

"There's something I need to tell you" Puck says, looking straight at his mother.

"We didn't want to tell you over the phone" Quinn adds, gripping Puck's hands.

"I have PTSD" Puck whispers, his eyes dropping to the floor. Instantly Judy and Moira are in tears and Hannah looks like she's gone into shock. Moira moves onto the couch next to her son, holding him tightly.

Judy turns to her own daughter, hugging her before asking if she's okay.

"We're okay, we're going to get through this" Quinn tells her mother adamantly.

"You should have told us earlier" Hannah says, they all turn to her, "We're your family, we should have known before now" then she leaves the room, slamming the door behind her.

"My baby boy" Moira sobs, gripping her son tighter, "Everything is going to be fine"

"We're a strong family" Judy says, "It's going to take a hell of a lot more than PTSD to break us down"

"Hell yeah" Puck says, trying in vain to calm his mother down, "Mum, I'm okay, I'm heaps better just ask Quinn"

"Better yet, ask his therapist" Quinn says, "She's gushing about how good he's doing."

"My baby" Moira sobs again, "My darling little boy"

"It's okay Mama" He repeats. "Everything is going to be okay"

* * *

It's 3AM when Puck is woken by Beth's cries from the other room. Quietly he slips out of Quinn's grasp and heads into his childhood bedroom where Beth is supposed to be sleeping (he and Quinn got the guest room). Without thinking he lifts the little girl off the bed and into his arms.

The earth doesn't move, in fact nothing of consequence happens, except for the fact that he holds his baby girl without sickening images running through his head at a hundred miles an hour. He doesn't know if he's more relieved about this or the fact that she stops crying. Laying down on the bed with her in his arms and they both fall into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Moira and Judy are waiting in the kitchen when Quinn comes down the stairs the next morning; they have breakfast ready and waiting for her.

"Where's Noah?" Judy asks, "Is he still in bed?"

"No, I think he must have gone for a run" Quinn stays, "He was gone when I woke up"

"What about little Bethie?" Moira asks, "When does she usually get up?"

"As late as possible" Quinn says.

"Just like her father was" Moira says.

"Just like her mother" Judy adds.

Quinn gets up to grab herself a glass of water, when she turns around with the full glass in her hand, shock causes her to drop it on the floor.

"Oh my god" She exclaims, clapping her hand over her mouth as tears flow instantly. Her eyes must be deceiving her, Puck is holding Beth, their parents probably think she's crazy. "Noah"

"I still look pretty sexy holding our kid don't I?" He jokes, beckoning her to move away from the water and shattered glass. She hugs him, burying her face into his shirt, as he tries to calm her down, "Hey, its okay, we're okay, this is good remember?"

"You're okay?" Quinn asks, staring up at him, "You're okay with holding her?"

"Yeah, I'm good" He says, "Beth loves daddy's cuddles don't you?" He asks the little girl, bouncing her in his arms, she squeals loudly.

"Daddy the best!" Beth exclaims, kissing her dad's cheek.

"What the hell is going on?" Hannah asks, walking in on her very confused mother and Judy watching the little family.

"Noah's holding Beth" Quinn says.

"Okay, totally not a big deal" Hannah says.

"You don't understand, he hasn't been able to touch her since he got back from Afghanistan, because of his PTSD" Quinn explains, turning to her mother-in-law and her mother, "He's finally holding her"

Moira screams happily before joining her son, daughter and granddaughter in their family hug.

"Told you I'd get better Mum" Noah says smugly.

* * *

Puck and Quinn sit down with Hannah and their mothers to fully explain his PTSD. Puck painfully describes how he saved Finn's life by killing a young terrorist and how his PTSD morphed his memory into him harming Beth. They even admit that Quinn had asked Puck for a divorce, and that they had been in therapy to work out their issues. Everyone, excluding Beth of course, finally understands the magnitude of what they witnessed in the kitchen. Puck explains how he heard Beth's cries and without thinking took the little girl in his arms to comfort her and Quinn swears that seeing him with her again was the happiest moment of her life.

They have dinner with the Hudsons, Carole tearfully pulls Puck aside and thanks him for saving her son's life. It's not until Rachel sees Carole's tears that it truly hits her that she could have lost her husband and she breaks down in tears too, followed by Quinn who's pretty emotional right now anyway. It turns into a chain of crying, ending when Alyssa and Beth start crying only because their mother's are crying.

"Now that the great flood of 2017 is over" Burt says, "Can we eat?"

Needless to say, the great flood is followed by the great laughing storm, when they all run out of breath from laughter.

* * *

Puck and Quinn fall back into family life when they return home with their daughter, and soon his PTSD fades into the background of their lives.

Back in the Puckerman kitchen in Lima, she never thought she'd see the day that she was sick of Puck holding their daughter, but that day had well and truly come. It was like Beth could sense the shift in the boundaries with her father, and she was taking full advantage. Puck and Quinn were cuddling on the couch watching Gilmore Girls reruns when Beth decided that she was done with her coloring and demanded to cuddle with her dad.

Lately Puck had been all Beth had wanted, she wasn't allowed to do anything for her daughter anymore, Beth wanted Puck to cuddle with, to bathe her, to read to her, to play with, to collect her from school. Quinn became the outlier in her daughter's life and in their family unit as well.

Puck saw the hurt flash across his wife's face when their daughter pulled him away from her. "Hey Beth" he stage whispered to his daughter, "Do you think we should give Mummy cuddles too?" he asked.

The little girl thought about it for a minute, "I want Mummy and Daddy cuddles"

"You heard the Princess" Puck said to his wife, "Get in here"

Quinn grinned as Puck pulled her into his side and Beth wrapped her little body around her mother. She held her baby girl for a while, enjoying the feeling of love that radiated through the room, "Hey Beth, don't you think Daddy should go get us chocolate ice-cream and sprinkles?"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes" Beth exclaimed. "Please daddy, please"

"Anything for my princesses" He said, kissing them both on the forehead before going into the kitchen.

"I love you Mumma" Beth said.

"I love you too Beth" Quinn replied, "More than anything in the whole wide world"

"More than Daddy?" Beth asked, staring up at her mother with the beautiful eyes she had inherited from her father.

"Sshh" Quinn whispered, "That's our little secret remember?"

"I love you and daddy the same" Beth announced, snuggling back into her mother's chest. Soon Puck returned to the room with one bowl of ice-cream and three spoons.

They laughed together as they shared their bowl of ice-cream, Beth fighting her dad for the sprinkles. "Daddy, do you love Mummy?" Beth asked, "More than anything?"

"Course I do" Her dad replied, tapping Quinn on the nose with his spoon, "You too baby girl"

"Mama has ice-cream on her nose" Beth giggled.

Puck tapped Beth's nose with his spoon as well, "So do you munchkin"

"Get daddy" Beth declared, wiping her little fingers on the side of the bowl and smudging them all over get dad's face. Quinn laughed as she copied her daughter, Puck leaned back to try and avoid her fingers but ended up toppling off the couch instead.

By the time they ran out of ice-cream they were all covered, after Quinn turned against Beth and Beth enlisted her dad's help to get her mother, they laughed so hard Beth fell asleep from exhaustion. Quinn cleaned her daughter's face and hands with a damp cloth before crying her to her room and returning downstairs to cuddle with her husband. Her life was perfect again.


End file.
